AR Murugadoss says he’s not planning to make Ghajini 2, claims people are ‘fed up’ with the ‘pan-India’ tag

Filmmaker AR Murugadoss showcased the trailer of his new film August 16 1947, in Mumbai on Friday. In a media interaction, he spoke about the film industry, and the possibility of making Ghajini 2.

AR Murugadoss opens up about his upcoming production venture, August 16, 1947

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Filmmaker AR Murugadoss showcased the trailer of August 16 1947, his upcoming film as producer, at a pre-release event in Mumbai on Friday. At the event, he spoke about his Aamir Khan and Asin-starrer Ghajini, the first-ever Bollywood inductee in the Rs 100 crore club. There were reports that Murugadoss was planning to make a sequel to the film. However, the director rejected these claims, and said that he is planning to re-enter Hindi films with a fresh script.

When asked for an update about Ghajini 2, Murugadoss said, “I don’t know of any idea about Ghajini 2, the girl (Asin’s character Kalpana) died, and he (Aamir Khan’s Sanjay) had short term memory loss… I will do something fresh. I have a couple of scripts, I will do something new for Hindi.” Even though several Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films, such as Baahubali 1 and 2, Ponniyin Selvan: 1, KGF 1 and 2, and RRR, have been successful across the country, Murugadoss said that people are “fed up with the tag pan-India.”

Also read | August 16 1947 trailer: Gautham Karthik promises an intriguing anti-colonial period drama

He said, “I am happy to be in Mumbai, and to see you all after a long time, this time as a producer. I know you are all fed up with the tag pan-India. But this one will surprise you, you will enjoy it. When we started the film, we wanted to make it as a Tamil film, once the shoot was finished, one of the producers watched it and said, ‘This film has the capacity and potential to reach a wider audience, why can’t we dub it in other languages’? Then, we discussed that we Indians got independence on the same day, felt the same emotions, so we should do it. You will enjoy the film. The director of the film came to me eight years ago. He worked as an AD. I read his script and decided to produce it. He has a unique point to a wonderful story.”

Murugadoss’ last few films, like Rajinikanth’s Darbar and the Mahesh Babu-starrer, and even his last Hindi feature, the Sonakshi Sinha-starrer Akira, did not perform well at the box office. Addressing his films flopping, the filmmaker said, “We are doing our best for all the films. With every film, we are trying something new, some films will work, some will not. So, I try to learn, I will correct it and I will come back.”

August 16 1947, directed by NS Ponkumar, is scheduled to release on April 7 in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.

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